1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an iron golf club. More specifically, the present invention relates to a multiple material iron golf club with a face insert composed of a nanocrystalline plated material.
2. Description of the Related Art
Irons are typically composed of a stainless steel or titanium material, and are typically cast or forged. Most golfers desire that their irons have a large sweet spot for greater forgiveness, a low center of gravity to get the ball in the air, a solid sound, reduced vibrations during impact, and a trim top line for appearance. Unfortunately, these desires are often in conflict with each other as it pertains to an iron.
The use of iron club heads composed of different materials has allowed some prior art irons to achieve some of these desires.
One example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,694 to Okumoto et al., which discloses an iron club head composed of a stainless steel sole and hosel, a core composed of a bulk molding compound or the like, a weight composed of a tungsten and polyamide resin, and an outer-shell composed of a fiber-reinforced resin.
Another example is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,792,139, 4,798,383, 4,792,139 and 4,884,812, all to Nagasaki et al., which disclose an iron club head composed of stainless steel with a fiber reinforced plastic back plate to allow for weight adjustment and ideal inertia moment adjustment.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,747 to Fujimura et al., which discloses a metal iron club head with a carbon fiber reinforced plastic back plate to increase the sweet spot. A ring is used to fix the position of the back plate.
Another example is set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,928,972 and 4,964,640 to Nakanishi et al., which disclose an iron club head composed of stainless steel with a fiber reinforcement in a rear recess to provide a dampening means for shock and vibrations, a means for increasing the inertial moment, a means for adjusting the center of gravity and a means for reinforcing the back plate.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,190,290 to Take, which discloses an iron club head with a metal body, a filling member composed of a light weight material such as a plastic, and a fiber-reinforced resin molded on the metal body and the filling member.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,264 to Oku, which discloses a metal body with a backwardly extended flange and an elastic fiber face plate in order to increase the moment of inertia and minimize head vibrations.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,472,201 to Aizawa et al., which discloses an iron club head with a body composed of stainless steel, a face member composed of a fiber reinforced resin and a protective layer composed of a metal, in order to provide a deep center of gravity and reduce shocks.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 5,326,106 to Meyer, which discloses an iron golf club head with a metal blade portion and hosel composed of a lightweight material such as a fiber reinforced resin.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,383 to Aizawa et al., which discloses an iron golf club head with a metal core covered with multiple layers of a reinforced synthetic resin in order to provide greater ball hitting distance.
Another example is U.S. Pat. No. 4,667,963 to Yoneyama, which discloses an iron golf club head with a metal sole and a filling member composed of a fiber reinforced resins material in order to provide greater hitting distance.
Nanocrystalline or nanophase technology originated a number of decades ago. The technology has progressed since its origin and application of the technology to various goods have been explored and documented by numerous individuals.
One of the earliest patents for this technology is U.S. Pat. No. 5,433,797 to Erb et al., for a Nanocrystalline Metals. This patent discloses a process for producing nickel-iron alloy nanocrystalline metals having a grain size of less than eleven nanometers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,051,046 to Schulz et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 6,277,170 to Schulz et al., both for Nanocrystalline Ni-Based Alloys, disclose nanocrystalline nickel based alloys having grain sizes less than 100 nanometers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,450 to Hui, for a Method and Apparatus for Depositing Ni—Fe—W-Palloys, discloses electrodepositing a nickel-iron-tungsten phosphorous alloy to promote wear resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,080,504 to Taylor et al., for Electrodeposition of Catalytic Metals Using Pulsed Electric Fields, discloses a method for forming nanocrystalline metals on a substrate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,011 to Gonsalves for a Nanostructured Steel Alloy, discloses a steel powder having a grain size in the nanometer range, specifically in the 50 nanometer size, and the steel power is an alloy composed of iron, chromium, molybdenum, vanadium and carbon.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,996 to Gonsalves et al., for Nanostructured Metals, Metal Carbides, and Metal Alloys, discloses nanostructured steel, aluminum, aluminum oxide, aluminum nitride, and other metals having crystallite size ranging from 45 nanometers to 75 nanometers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,033,624 to Gonsalves et al., for Methods for the Manufacturing of Nanostructured Metals, Metal Carbides, and Metal Alloys, discloses a chemical synthesis method for producing nanostructured metals.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,603,667 to Ezaki et al., discloses an iron with a striking face composed of copper or a copper alloy and nickel plated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,427 to Saeki discloses an iron with an non-electrolytic nickel-boron plating and a chromate film, and a method for manufacturing such an iron.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,792,004 to Nagamoto discloses an iron composed of a soft-iron material with a carbonized surface layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,986 to Harada et al., discloses a method for manufacturing a golf club head by electrolytic deposition of metal alloys such as nickel based alloys.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,193,614 to Sasamoto et al., discloses a golf club head with a face portion that is arranged to have its crystal grains of the material of the face portion oriented in a vertical direction. The '614 patent also discloses nickel-plating of the face portion.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,531,444 to Buettner discloses an iron composed of a ferrous material having a titanium nitride coating for wear resistance.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,851,158 to Winrow et al., discloses a golf club head with a coating formed by a high velocity thermal spray process.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,087,268 to Byrne et al., for a Method Of Plating A Golf Club head discloses a method of plating a golf club head composed of magnesium, magnesium alloys, aluminum, or aluminum alloys.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,063,628 to Reyes et al., for a Plated Magnesium Golf Club Head discloses a golf club head having a magnesium portion that is plated with a nickel or nickel alloy based material.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0135281 to Palumbo et al., for a Strong, Lightweight Article Containing A Fine-Grained Metallic Layer discloses a shaft or face plate that is plated on a single surface with a nanocrystalline material.
The prior art has failed to disclose a nanocrystalline plated material for a face insert for a multiple material iron golf club head.